A Waterflower's Lullabye
by Verboten Byacolate
Summary: Lonliness. It's like a disease, spreading through ones' self, making it difficult to breath or function properly. She can't help but be infected, because the only one that mattered is out of her life.[AAML, incomplete]
1. Chapter 1

A/N; My first posted Pokemon fic. I won't ruin the story for you, but hear this; I am an all-out AAML shipper, through thick and thin. They love each other, and if that isn't enough for you Ash/May shippers, then you obviously haven't cared to watch the older Pokemon episodes, or read any of the manga (yes, there was Pokemon manga, and Misty was slightly jealous of Ash's crush on Gary's older sister, but we'll not get into that right now), so sue me if you're hell-bent on your AAMAYR ship, which just isn't healthy.

Sorry, I get like that when PMSing.

Disclaimer; I do not own Pokemon, which is fairly obvious, because, who in their right minds would have Misty leave, and put a total... _other girl_ in her place? It's crazy, I tell you! Crazy!

**A Waterflower's Lullaby**

_Chapter One- Song of Departure_

_I flew on silken wings_

_whilst we were together_

_and knew that love_

_was never far behind._

_But then came that dreadful day_

_that took me far away_

_and now, I learn to never_

_pay my heartache any mind_

"Ouch!" she hissed, clamping her right finger tightly between her thighs. The girl glared at the piece of paper, the bottom right corner laced with her blood. "Of course; if anyone was to send a bad-lucked post-card, it would be my sisters," she grumbled, and finished reading the letter sulkily, and sighed. The carrot-topped girl shuffled all of her (not really hers, but, in truth, the gym's) mail together, and rested her head on her folded arms, bent over, leaning on the front desk. It was so lonely working here all by herself. Even with her pokemon, it was still lonesome. Misty peeked her head out of her arms and wrapped her slim fingers around the small Pikachu replica on the desk and stroked it fondly with her thumb. She tried to imagine the real thing; the best friend to her best friend, and found she still could.

_Pi-pika! Pikachu! Chu!_

She grinned.

_I bet Pikachu's grown stronger._

Misty sighed.

_And Ash along with it._

She let a wistful smile flitter across her face.

_Ash Ketchum; Pokemon Master!_

She fiddled with the porcelain Pikachu a while longer, and then set it down.

_One day, he'll achieve that title, though he's earned it long ago._

This time, it was a sad smile that showed on her face.

_I'm glad to have helped him earn it, even if I did hardly anything._

Misty walked to the glass doors and looked through them, surveying the surrounding Cerulean area. She didn't really expect to see anyone coming to the gym. The only ones that did were beginners, and she never lost to them, which in turn broke so many of their young hearts. But not their spirits. A grin blossomed on her lips.

_Ash never lost his spirit. He was always ready to fight, no matter how many times he'd been beaten._

Misty blinked back a few tears that threatened to grace her cheeks of ivory. She touched the glass door with her fingertips, sighing sadly, let her gaze sweep the area once more before turning from the double doors and entering the gym's arena. The amber-crowned girl was greeted by myriad of water Pokemon, calling their accustomed calls. She smiled at each of them as she passed, and sat down at the edge of the Olympic-sized pool. Dewgong, Azumarill, and Staryu were the ones who came to her side first, and she smiled at them, though they could tell that she was not happy.

"_Gong_?"

Misty patted the chalk-white Pokemon on the head and kicked at some water.

"Go on and play, now," Misty told them. The Pokemon exchanged worried glances before heeding their human friend's command. Misty half-watched as her Pokemon danced and swirled around in the water. The other half was spent in deep memory. She remembered that day... the day she had left the two friends she adored most, and whom she considered hers; Ash and Brock. They had been through so much together, those three. Misty missed her male comrades very much, and fought back more tears remembering that day.

It had begun as any other day; the three had just checked out a Pokemon Center, and had found out that Misty had a message. The message had relayed that Misty was to report home immidiately, as her sisters were going to travel the world, and would need someone to take over the gym for them until they got back, thus making it so that the group, the almost inseprable (not counting skirt-chasing Brock) group, break. It was so sudden, and so foreign; Ash and Misty had always stuck together, even when Brock had left, and Tracey had filled his place for a short time. _Always_! And Misty had never thought of that changing. Ever.

She was leaving.

_And Ash... he didn't even care._

She sniffled, which echoed around the cavernous room.

"_Rill... rill?"_

Misty scooped Azumarill into her arms and clung tight.

"I miss them... I miss him," she confided. Azumarill's tail bobbed up and down like a ball. Misty's throaty voice soon went back to normal, and not a tear had she shed, for she would not cry. To cry would be weak and admitting... Never mind. Apparently, it was not meant to be. Misty sighed and placed the Azumarill by her side.

"Thanks," she murmured to the Pokemon, and shooed it off to play with the others. Reluctantly, it did so, though not before patting Misty on the knee with its tail. She smiled slightly as the Pokemon waddled off to the rest of the water pocket-monsters.

_They're all so lucky... to be together. Always together._

She rested her chin on her folded knees and closed her eyes.

_Now, why does it feel like that thought had dual meanings?_

About to travel further into that thought, Misty heard the automatic doors open. Grateful to have a distraction from obviously what would have been depressing thoughts, the carrot-top stood up and power-walked to the front desk. Her jaw dropped when she saw the mop of green hair and sketch pad tucked under his arm.

"Tracey?!?"


	2. Chapter 1 half

Warning; Spoilers from 'Gotta Catch Ya Later!'. Sorry I didn't add this part in the last chapter, though all of you should know about that sad, sad day...

**A Waterflower's Lullabye**

_Chapter 1 1/2_

_Finally, he had a moment alone. Well... alone as he could possibly be with four companions, one of them being a pokemon. May and Max were asleep, Pikachu looked just about ready to lose itself to dreamland (or, whatever happens to Pokemon when they sleep), and Brock was reading some book. This gave Ash some time to himself to think. And, like all times he had Alone Time, he found himself thinking of one particular thing;_

_His red-headed, tempermental best friend._

_It was so odd; he and Misty had been apart for so long (months! He hadn't seen her in months!), and he could still hear her voice in his head, yelling warnings when he was about to do something stupid, throwing insults when he had already **done** something stupid, words of comfort when he was feeling low, words of inspiration and luck when he was about to battle, fretting tuts when he was hurt, and words of encouragement during a difficult time. He even heard her whisperings of 'good-night' right before he fell asleep. She was the voice of his conscience, and only lately had he realized it. _

_The truth of the whole matter; he missed her._

_The other thing that haunted his mind was the day she left. He had apparently hidden his inner termoil much too well, as she had run out of the Pokemon Center close to tears. His heart still flopped around guiltily in his chest when he thought about it. He hated the fact that he made her cry like that when he felt like crying himself. It wasn't fair of him to do so... it could even be considered... cruel._

_"Ash?"_

_The boy's head snapped up. Brock was looking at him with slight concern etching his features._

_"Yeah?"_

_"What are you thinking about?"_

_"Misty."_

_Only after he had said it did he notice the ubruptness of his answer. But Brock only nodded._

_"Ah. That's understandable." If Ash thought he was going to leave it at that, he was **so** **completely** mistaken. "You miss her, don't you?"_

_Ash, after a second, nodded. Brock smiled._

_"Me too." And under his breath, "though, most likely, not as much as you." He watched quietly for a moment, studying Ash who, in turn, was studying the stars. Brock grinned. _

_"I'm sure she misses y- us, too."_

_"Think so?" Ash replied offhandedly._

_"I really do."_


End file.
